…that sometimes even the best talents and greatest minds are prone to the odd – let’s put it this way – bad day. Like the rest of us, complaining and being in a strop sometimes is just normal human behaviour. How reassuring!
As a couple of composers here at toneQuote, we enjoy coming across quotes from the great musicians when they’re having a whiny moment – and here are just a few of our favourites.

1. “If I decide to be an idiot, then I’ll be an idiot of my own accord” – JS Bach

2. “If there is anyone here whom I haven’t insulted, then I beg his pardon- Johannes Brahms

3. “My music is best understood by children and animals” – Igor Stravinsky

4. “I’m sure my music has a taste of codfish in it” – Edvard Grieg

5. “Music making as a means of getting money is hell” – Gustav Holst

And they weren’t shy at making digs about other composers:

6. “Vivaldi did not write 500 concertos… he wrote the same concerto 500 times” – Igor Stravinsky

7. “I’m told that Wagner’s music isn’t as bad as it sounds” – Gustav Mahler

8. “Handel strikes me as so fourth rate that he’s not even interesting” – Tchaikovsky

9. “Schoenberg would be better shovelling snow than scribbling on manuscript paper” – Richard Strauss

10. “Though I had some instuction from Haydn I never learned anything from him”  – Beethoven

So there we are. We can all fell a bit better when we’re having one of those days!

Early Spring brings the daffodils here in the UK, and of course the start of the gardening season as the weeds gather pace on the lawn and the paths…

One can sense the gradual awakening of nature – the frogspawn in the pond, bees on the early flowering plants, birds rustling in the bushes seeking nesting sites, buds appearing on the trees…

Early Spring is special as the quality of light is unique at this time of year. The trees are still not in leaf so the bright March/ April sunshine bathes everything in it’s glorious luminosity. And as our title suggests, the plants and bushes are often wet with rain reflecting the light. There ‘s often still a chill in the air early morning – sometimes we can still see our breath if out walking – but as the warmth of the sun strengthens we find ourselves shedding our coats and feel a hint of the summer to come.

Nature is awakening and will indeed become busier as Spring really gets underway – just like us humans! Holiday plans, Easter gatherings, Bank Holiday trips… but don’t forget to savour this brief and special time, the gentle quiet first steps into the new season.

It’s February! Just a tiny hint of Spring to come. Here in rural Lincolnshire we’re lucky to have huge skies and are regularly treated to aerial displays of birds in flight…

Thinking about our feathered friends, there is something wonderful about the presence of birdsong. Stepping outside going about the ordinary business of being alive, and then — a song. A blackbird on a rooftop, pouring out its melody as if it had all the time in the world – and intended to use every second of it! In that moment, something lifts. The day reshapes itself around that sound. We breathe, smile… the world is wonderful again.